5.28.2007

Rambo Retires from Killing


Rambo, Retired



This is Rambo. He lives next door with my parents.



We always had cats when I was growing up, but my parents didn’t have a cat for many years, not until Rambo. Originally, they got him to be a barn cat. He’s a very good mouser.

Two summers ago, my mom brought him home from a yard sale. He’d been in a box marked “Free Kittens.” She named him Rambo to bolster his courage and ensure that he’d be a good hunter.



It worked, and he lived up to his name. He was an excellent mouse catcher, and liked to eat his prey (after torturing them well first), gulping them down whole, head first, as if he were some sort of furry snake. Then he'd sit there, this skinny orange kitten, quite satisfied with himself, with nothing but a bit of tail sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

It was very Apocalypse Now. But without the spikes. Give him credit, though--unlike Isis, he lacks opposable thumbs, and I believe whittling sharp sticks would've been beyond his ken.



But Rambo must have known that my parents needed a companion more than they wanted a barn cat, because every time they were outside, he followed them wherever they went, hopping in their laps to cuddle and purr as soon as they sat down on porch or patio. And before I knew it, Rambo was an indoor cat.

Now, like my parents, Rambo spends his winters down south (he’s a very good traveler). From the Free Kitten Box into the lap of luxury—it’s quite the success story. Nowadays, he seems perfectly content with his stuffed catnip mice as opposed to the real thing. (Yet I do wonder what he would've made of those baby raccoons...)








15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, I didn't know cats could be, like, ORANGE; but I never see any cats except Sam and Flat Cat so, you know, this is really COOL. I am surprised that he will ride in a car because, like, the worst thing that ever happened to me was when the lady I live with put me in a car (this happened TWICE). Though I am sure that this early trauma made me the sensitive artiste I've become so, like the other cat I live with says, it's all kibble to the bowl.

Gattina said...

He looks like a very handsome cat and not small at all ! His face reminds me of our old Max who had the same pattern but in silver grey. He also was a good mouser but unfortunately brought them always home alive !

Puss-in-Boots said...

Rambo looks like a lovely ginger cat I had for 12 years, until he got hit by a car.

Glad Rambo is an indoor cat now.

Enjoy your Memorial Day.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

What a beautiful cat. I think they prefer the good, lazy, life to a working life !!
Take care, Meow

Chris said...

I love that last picture - happy front paws, back paws all cute...

Anonymous said...

Hello and a Happy Tuesday to you.

Glad to hear that Rambo is now a house cat. I know it is mother nature for cats to hunt and kill but I can't deal with it. I am not very good watching animal planet or discovery channel.
Enjoy the day.

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Rambo is a handsome cat! He sounds like a wonderful hunter. I am glad he is content with toy mice now.

BEESTLYproducts said...

Rambo looks like one of my kitties <333

Anonymous said...

Rambo certainly landed on all four paws when he wound up with your parents! He looks quite handsome and happy.

I had a hunter once who used to leave dead mice on my bed (always on my side of the double bed I share with my husband). I had another who used to leave half a mouse on the doormat (he believed in sharing).

Now all my kitties are indoor cats only and all they catch are the kids stuffed animals.

Suzanne R said...

Rambo is so handsome, and he appears to know when he's got it good. ;-)

I keep my kitties inside now that Chester is gone, having been chomped by a coyote last spring, so I no longer receive the real-life mice as gifts. Somehow that's a form of adulation that I am able to live without. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Rambo is georgeous. I had a big ginger tabby who was wild in his youth and a cuddler in his dotage.
(Living next door to your parents is a good thing, right?)

FelineFrisky said...

Rambo looks just like my Tucker! Except Tucker is a coward.

What a lucky boy, to have lived outside & inside. He has had the best of both worlds.

D :)

kuanyin333 said...

I love the name Rambo for a cat! Happy COT!

srp said...

I knew a Chihuahua named Rambo once....but that really is beside the point. What a gorgeous cat... deserves the best, I'm sure!

Dorothy said...

Sorry, I'm just now getting around to the COT sites. You told Rambo's story well. He looks soft and cuddly in the pictures. Quite a beautiful color.